Goodno leaves Human Services to start lobbying agency
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(AP) - Human Services Commissioner Kevin Goodno announced his resignation Tuesday, saying he will leave Gov. Tim Pawlenty's administration to start a lobbying practice.
Goodno oversees one of the biggest departments in state government, with 6,900 employees and a two-year budget of $17.8 billion, including federal money. His responsibilities include subsidized health care programs, sex offender treatment lockups, mental health services, child welfare and the state's Canadian drug import program.
The 43-year-old former GOP lawmaker has headed the Human Services Department since Pawlenty took office in January 2003. Before that, he spent 12 years in the state House, where he led the Health and Human Services Finance Committee and helped overhaul the state welfare system.
Fights over cuts to government-funded health programs marked his career as a commissioner, including eliminating subsidized health care for some and restricting benefits for others.
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"That's part of the job I was hired to do," Goodno said.
He said his accomplishments included an overhaul of the mental health system and collaboration with American Indian tribes on child welfare services. He said the department also gave consumers more information about medical prices, including pharmacy prices recently added to the Minnesota RxConnect Web site.
Two other members of the GOP governor's cabinet have resigned this year. Sheryl Corrigan will leave the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on Aug. 1, while Matt Kramer left the Department of Employment and Economic Development in March.
In a prepared statement, Pawlenty called Goodno a "fantastic public servant."
Rep. Fran Bradley, the lead House Republican on health care, praised Goodno but said rising health care costs are still the department's biggest challenge.
Goodno said the timing of his departure is unrelated to this fall's election, when Pawlenty is seeking a second term. He will leave in two weeks to establish a lobbying practice with the Minneapolis law firm of Fredrikson & Byron.
No successor has been named, said Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
